Engadget RSS Feedhttp://www.engadget.com
Engadgethttp://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gifEngadgethttp://www.engadget.com
en-usCopyright 2015 AOL Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/02/osx-public-beta-with-photos/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/02/osx-public-beta-with-photos/http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/02/osx-public-beta-with-photos/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments

If you've been anxious to try Apple's Photos app and kick iPhoto to the curb, you now have a (relatively) easy way to do it. The Mac maker has just released the first public beta of OS X Yosemite 10.10.3, which includes the simpler, streamlined imaging tool as a matter of course. This test release is bound to be rough around the edges (don't trust it with your irreplaceable pictures, folks), but it's worth a go if you're willing to experiment and want to know what all the fuss is about.

Back in November 1966, Buzz Aldrin took a self-picture that will blow all Caribbean vacation selfies out of the water. Aside from the fact that it doesn't have a duckface in it, the photo was taken in space during the Gemini 12 mission. This historical selfie is but one of the numerous images NASA has recently unearthed from its archives -- images it's slated to auction off at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury's in London's Mayfair sometime today. See, the agency used to release only a small number of images to the media back then, while the rest was sent to Manned Spacecraft Center researchers in Houston.

As the saying goes, the best camera is the one that's with you. For most of us that's a smartphone, so the traditions of printing and sharing physical photos have slowly fallen by the wayside. To bridge the growing analog-digital divide, Polaroid experts The Impossible Project (TIP) crowdfunded an instant photo printing kit back in 2012. The idea was simple: you took your smartphone, opened a photo and placed it face down at the top of the machine. The light from the display would then shine through the Instant Lab's underlying lens and down the tower to expose the Polaroid film, creating a new print.

Visitors to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, will soon have a chance to see those items Neil Armstrong kept from the Apollo 11 moon landing. This week's news about Armstrong's memorabilia got us thinking: What are some the other notable bits of tech NASA used to document space exploration? Well, the full list is a bit daunting, as the agency has been hard at work for decades. However, we've compiled a collection of the highlights, from the first US spacecraft to transmit close-up photographs of the moon's surface to X-ray telescopes used to capture cosmic explosions. We even tossed in a selfie for good measure. %Gallery-slideshow266587%

If you're determined to snag Aperture before Apple rides it into the sunset, you'd better do it quickly. Cupertino is now warning photo editing mavens that it's pulling Aperture from the Mac App Store once Photos is available this spring. You should still have the option of restoring your Aperture copy if you lose it, but there won't be a way to buy it if you decide that neither Photos nor Adobe Lightroom are your cups of tea. While the cutoff isn't all that shocking given Apple's historical eagerness to ditch older software as new versions roll out, it's not cheerful news if you were hoping that Aperture would stick around for a little while longer.

Don't think Sigma's extremely wide dp Quattro cameras are outrageous enough? Don't worry, the company has you covered. The new dp0 Quattro mates a new version of Sigma's high-detail Foveon X3 sensor (billed here as equal to a 39-megapixel conventional sensor) with a fixed 14mm f/4 ultra wide-angle lens. Yes, you read that correctly -- buy a dp0 and your only choice is to capture all-encompassing shots. While the glass corrects for the chromatic aberrations and distortions you sometimes see in wide-angle imagery, you'll need a penchant for shooting landscapes or real estate ads if this is going to make much sense. Sigma isn't talking about prices or ship dates for the dp0 just yet, but the $999 price of both the dp1 and dp2 suggests that you'll be paying a hefty sum to own a compact cam with freaky optics.

Remember those murmurs that Google would detach its photo service from its social networking? It just took steps that could make this split a practical reality. The search firm has snapped up the creators of Odysee, a mobile app that can automatically share photos in private as well as send your phone snapshots to your PC at home. The team (Nimbuz) isn't specific about its future plans beyond promises of more "amazing products," but it's joining the Google+ group. That's an unusual move for a developer that specializes in keeping pictures out of the public eye, but it'd make sense if Google wants a photo platform that can stand on its own two feet. Whatever Google's intentions, it's acting quickly. Odysee has already vanished from app stores, and the service shuts down on February 23rd.

Canon is determined to leave no camera niche uncovered, it seems. Just a month after it kicked out an avalanche of PowerShot point-and-shoots, it's back with two more that fill what few holes are left. The SX410 IS super-zoom is the darling of the two, and improves on the still-young SX400 IS with an even longer-ranged 40x stabilized lens and a sharper 20.2-megapixel sensor for a modest $280 -- slightly more than the $250 SX400, but arguably a better deal if you just have to get up-close photos. There's sadly no WiFi or NFC, though, and you'll have to be content with recording 720p movies. The SX410 IS should hit shops in March. %Gallery-slideshow265737%

Despite the rise of mirrorless cameras, Canon has been relatively cautious updating its Rebel DSLR line. The last big upgrade was the T5i from two years ago, and even that was considered more of a refresh than a revamp. Well, the series is finally getting an overhaul -- and in some cases, it might be enough to make you skip more expensive shooters. Both the new Rebel T6i and T6s (above) carry sharper 24.2-megapixel sensors and DIGIC 6 processors that let them pull off feats that are both welcome and, frankly, a little overdue. They now have EOS-70D-like fast autofocusing embedded in the pixels themselves and (new to Canon) color tone detection. You'll also be glad to know that the Rebel range is finally getting built-in WiFi for photo transfers, and you can pair with Android phones or accessories over NFC. %Gallery-slideshow265733%

It's always cool learning how stuff works. Case in point: cameras. More specifically, digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) pictograph boxes. The chaps over at YouTube channel The Slow Mo Guys have taken their trademark ultra-high-speed camerawork and, well, pointed it at a camera. The result? Seeing what a shutter looks like moving at 1/8000 of a second compared to 1/1000 of a second. Host Gavin Free achieves this, like the rest of the team's pretty rad videos, by shooting at 10,000 frames per-second with a Phantom Flex and then slowing it down for playback. The video below isn't the channel's most impressive clip, but it's perhaps the one with the most useful knowledge. After all, how often will you watch the result of chugging a gallon of milk as opposed to seeing just what happens when you snap a picture? Exactly.

If there's one thing (and there is) I miss about carrying around my Lumia 1020, it's that phone's dedicated, two-stage camera button. Designed to mimic "real" camera shutter releases, it's a feature I've missed dearly on my current daily driver, Apple's iPhone 6. Seattle-based Moment seems to think I'm not alone in wanting a more camera-like experience when snapping pics with my phone. Starting today, the small company is taking to Kickstarter to launch the Moment Case -- a camera case it hopes will bring DSLR-like control to iPhone shutterbugs.%Gallery-slideshow263165%

Last spring, Adobe brought a version of its Lightroom photo-editing software to the iPad making for some convenient editing on the go. Months later, a version of the app is ready for Android devices and it brings all of the key features from the iOS version to those handsets running Google's mobile OS. You'll notice that I said "handsets" there, and that's an important caveat. The app is designed for use on phones, and not tablets. Adobe says a version that's optimized for tablets is on the way, but for now, the app is meant to be used on phones. While this new Lightroom mobile equips devices running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and later with its toolbox of tweaks (more on that in a minute), the creative software company recommends that you have at least 8GB of free space on your device to keep things running smoothly.

Scanners are really extra-large image sensors at heart, so it stands to reason that you could make a decent camera out of one. Right? Well, Dario Morelli just proved it... and then some. His homebrew medium format camera uses parts from an Epson V30-series scanner to take enormous 143-megapixel photos whose resolution puts even the better professional cameras to shame. Morelli went so far as to repackage everything in a custom enclosure, so the device is relatively portable and will sit on a tripod.

It wasn't long ago that Flickr lamented the "cost of lost good will" its Wall Art service caused, but the photo-minded outfit thinks it has a solution: removing Creative Commons-licensed photos from Wall Art's available photos. What's more, the outfit is refunding the sales of CC images made through Wall Art as well. As Flickr vice president Bernardo Hernandez notes on the company blog, Wall Art's photo printing service will continue. However, the only works you'll be able to buy will pull from the Flickr Marketplace artists and stuff in your personal collection. And if you're interested in still selling, Hernandez urges you to sign up for Marketplace for consideration.

Mobile photo editing apps are hardly in short supply these days, but EyeEm has attempted to stand out from the crowd with its focus on sharing, community and discovery. Now, only days after Instagram released a bunch of new filters, EyeEm is doing the same with a major overhaul of its editing tools. Similar to VSCO Cam, you can now pick from 24 different filters that apply subtle tweaks and a filmic color palette. EyeEm is also offering intensity sliders and editing tools that let you fine-tune your image, such as the exposure, contrast and vignette. But perhaps the most useful addition is a new feature called Open Edit. Now, when you're looking at other people's uploads, you can also review the settings they applied inside EyeEm. The app even offers a "try this edit" option so you can quickly apply the look to your own images. It's a neat idea that should encourage users to check out each other's work and steal -- ahem, adopt new edit combinations.

Instagram's photography thrives on filters, so it's only fair that you get as much control over those filters as possible, right? The developers clearly think so. An update rolling out today to Instagram's Android and iOS apps lets you reorganize and hide filters; if you're obsessed with Sutro's vignettes, you can bump it to the front. Each filter icon also shows a blurred preview of the effect on your photo, giving you a better sense of what will happen if you tap a given icon. There are five new filters (Aden, Crema, Ludwig, Perpetua and Slumber) available today as well, so you'll have plenty of excuses to check out the new interface when it reaches your phone.

For most of us, high-speed image capture, say 120 or 240 frames per second, is enough to get a good look at stuff happening in the blink of an eye -- like a water droplet hitting the ground or a Bichon Frisé snagging his favorite ball. For faster subjects, industrial-strength high-speed cameras can grab tens of thousands of frames per second (or more). But when your rapidly moving target is light itself, you're going to need something a bit quicker -- to the tune of 100 billion fps, according to Nature.

The photo backup features in mobile apps like Dropbox's Carousel and Google+ are there partly to take the load off of your phone -- you don't have to keep every shot close at hand. Wouldn't it be nice if the software got rid of local images when they're merely taking up space? Apparently, it will soon. Dropbox is giving some Carousel users a "sneak peek" at a feature that offers to scrap local photos (after they've been backed up, of course) when your device storage is almost full. It's a simple gesture, but it could save you some time; you won't have to fret over which pictures to delete just to make sure you can snap a few new ones. We've reached out to Dropbox to get an inkling of when this feature will be available to everyone, and we'll let you know if it can provide a timetable.

Remember that Wall Art service Flickr launched in October that gave you a way to buy big prints of your own snapshots (or, you know, selfies)? Well, now you can also buy wall-size versions of other people's photographs, though, that doesn't mean you can choose random images posted on the website. The only photos you can purchase from the expanded Wall Art service are those that come from Flickr's licensed artists (who also sell their work through the Marketplace) or from the company's hand-selected list of Creative Commons images.

Back in September, Adobe snatched up Aviary to pad its mobile portfolio, and the photo-editing app has released its first major post-acquisition update. In what will come as no surprise, Aviary now syncs all of your in-app tools with Creative Cloud after you sign in with a requisite Adobe ID. What's more, those effects, stickers and more that usually require shelling out funds are free until the end of the month -- all $200 worth. Stencil overlays (another in-app purchase) and vignettes make their debut alongside adjustments for fade, highlights, shadows and tint via easy to use slider controls. Finally, the iOS version gets a revamped Draw tool that offers a more natural feel. Both that and the Android update are ready for download, and if you're looking to test drive 'em, Aviary is free via the respective app repositories.

VSCO Cam has been a popular choice for smartphone photo edits on iOS, and more recently Android, for quite some time. When the outfit sought to update its app for the latest version of Apple's mobile OS, it went a step further: properly equipping the iPad to be a better editing option. As a VSCO Cam user, the most useful part of version 4.0 is the Preset Gallery that allows you to view multiple filters side-by-side before making a selection. It takes advantage of the increased screen real estate too, while letting you modify, undo and view all the tweaks in a handy Edit History. There's also a new web uploader for getting your shots from a computer to a mobile device, and thanks to Sync, selected photos can be accessed across that mobile device fleet. Don't worry about downsizing in the process either: the full-res files are transferred back and forth, even massive DSLR images from Nikon's D800 and the like. Thanks to iOS 8, VSCO Cam lets you adjust manual focus, shutter speed, white balance and exposure when capturing images, similar to other photo apps for Apple devices. %Gallery-slideshow243257%

We've seen too many clever quips on Instagram marred by a typo or a malformed emoticon - if you've fouled up a caption or eight in your time, you'd better download Instagram's latest update. At long last, those of you whose fingers move fasters than your eyes can go back an edit your captions so as to look as smart as you always thought you were. The rest of the update consists of minor tweaks to how you discover new Instaphotographers to follow: you'll be able to dig around in a new People tab for new sources of content (as opposed to just sifting through a stream of overly filtered photos), while the app's search box now returns suggestions for users and hashtags as you're pecking them out. The update has already started to hit the Facebook subsidiary's iOS and Android apps today, which means that Windows Phone owners can probably expect to fix their flubs some time after the sun swells up into a red giant and engulfs the inner half of the solar system.

Twitpic may not have avoided an untimely demise, but you won't have to worry about some of your older Twitter photos disappearing into the void. The defunct hosting company has reached a last-minute deal that will have Twitter take over both the Twitpic web domain and its photo archive, keeping all those legacy images intact. It's not a revival; Twitpic is no longer taking new pictures, and all that you can do now is delete or download your collection. There's also a chance that those snapshots will go offline, since Twitpic can only promise that your library is safe "for the time being." Still, the pact will give you at least a temporary place to go when you're feeling nostalgic about that first selfie.

Did you know that Apple hasn't changed the 5-megapixel camera on the iPad for three models running? It's probably fair to hope that the company adding something to the tablet's imaging prowess at tomorrow's event. That said, is it really true that the best camera is "the one that's with you," if said snapper is a 9.7-inch slate? We decided to take a little trawl through some of history's most notable iPad photography incidents to find out if people really are holding it wrong. %Gallery-slideshow232502%

You've probably seen websites that turn your digital photos into posters and other real-world art, but they're typically separate from the photo sites you use. Wouldn't it be nice if you could order those large prints on a whim while you're browsing your albums? Flickr clearly thinks so, as it just launched a new Wall Art service that converts any of your photos into board-mounted decor that should be worthy of your living room. You can change the size to match the space you want to fill (up to 20 inches by 30 inches), and there's a wrap-around canvas option if you're aiming for a slightly more dramatic effect. Just choose those pics carefully -- your house guests might not see the artistic merit behind immortalizing your latest selfie.